Mother says son, 7, ‘was hanged’ in bathroom as school claims it was an accident

The parents of a 7-year-old Maryland student have “so many unanswered questions” after they say their son was “hung” in a school bathroom.

The boy’s mother, whose identity has not been shared, recounted the incident in a social media post and provided details of what happened Friday, Nov. 15, at Waldorf’s C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School to area businesses. WUSA News 9, WTOP news and Fox 5 Washington, DC

The parents told WUSA 9 News that the injuries their son suffered included “marks under his eyes” and “bruises on his neck from being choked.”

“He’s traumatized. It’s going to take time,” the mother said. “This is not something he just comes over overnight.”

The school issued a statement on the day of the incident, describing it as a “horseplay” accident. “Two of our students were reportedly playing in a school bathroom when one student’s jacket got caught on a barn door hook,” the school wrote.

“The student was unable to extricate themselves, and the other student involved was also unable to assist them,” the statement continued. “This student left the bathroom to seek assistance from staff and reported the incident to administrators. Administrators responded and were able to assist, but staff called 911 for further preventative medical care.”

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The school concluded by thanking the students who reported the incident, the staff for handling the situation and the students for following directions while the paramedics were on scene to administer care to the student.

C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School also said there is an ongoing investigation into the incident and the school resource officer and police are involved with school administrators.

In her social media post on Nov. 17, the boy’s mother shared a photo of her son in a hospital bed and wrote, “My child who is in 2nd grade was hanged in the boys bathroom by a 4th grader.”

She said she received “the most traumatizing phone call” from the school informing her that her son was being taken to a children’s hospital.

“The principal went into the bathroom and found my baby foaming at the mouth and unconscious,” she added.

“I walked into the trauma room with 8-10 doctors around my son,” the mother continued. “This is the most heartbreaking and traumatizing situation my family has ever been in.”

The mother hopes to make other parents and students aware of the incident, stressing that “everything about this is unacceptable, nothing about this is ok BULLYING is never ok.”

“I feel anger and see red, but my son is here by the grace of God and I will be forever grateful,” she concluded. “I have so many unanswered questions. I thank everyone for all the call checks and prayers.”